LifeStraw® Family - Microbiological Performance

Field study: Clasen, T. et al. 2010. Field assessment of a novel household-based water filtration device: a randomised placebo-controlled trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo. PloS One September 2010

Study Design: 12-month RCT among 240 households (1144 persons) in remote, rural Congo

Outcome: Very high antimicrobial efficacy: While 75% of 580 source water samples had contamination levels >1000 TTC/100ml, 64% of filtered samples taken at the household level were free of TTC and 27% had levels between 1-10 TTC/100ml

Field study: LifeStraw^® Family use, acceptability and performance – Phase I (Kenya)

Partner: Centers for Disease Control – SWAP

Outcome: High antimicrobial efficacy: 70% or more of water samples from the LifeStraw® Family taken intoconsi deration were free of contamination (faecal coliforms)

Laboratory test: LifeStraw^® Family Quality Inspection (Intertek Vietnam)

Outcome: Successfully passed Intertek Quality Inspection and complies with the USEPA protocol on bacteria removal of >99.9999%, on virus removal of >99.99%, on protozoan parasite removal of >99.9%. Complies with the USEPA maximum admissible chlorine residual levels < 4mg/L and with the maximum product water permissible turbidity < 0.5 NTU (NSF/ANSI 63)

Field study: Testing the efficiency of LifeStraw® Family in purifying drinking water (Institute of Technology of Cambodia)

Study design: 3 months, 22 households in rural Cambodia (Pursat and Kandal Province)

Outcome: High antimicrobial efficacy: All filters removed >99.99% of bacteria (total plate count, total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms and E. Coli). However 45% of the filters showed some recontamination issues between week # 2 and week # 12, due to insects/dust/poor hygiene practices. High turbidity removal efficacy: LifeStraw^® Family effectively removes turbidity.

Field study: LifeStraw® Family pilot project in Ethiopia

Partner: Christian Children Fund of Canada

Outcome: Extremely high antimicrobial efficacy; extremely high water aesthetics improvement: turbidity removal, improvement of taste

Laboratory test: Clasen, T. et al. 2009. Laboratory assessment of a gravity-fed ultrafiltration water treatment device designed for household use in low-income settings. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 80(5), 2009, pp. 819–823

Outcome: >LOG 6/4/3 reduction on bacteria, virus and parasites; 18,000L capacity (tested up to 110% i.e. 20,000L)

Laboratory test: Various laboratory assessments of LifeStraw® Family in various countries

Partners: Pro-Lab (Brazil), Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia), Instituto Departamental de Salud de Narino (Colombia), Ministry of Water Resources Lab (Ethiopia), Water Research Institute (Ghana), Laboratoire Vétérinaire et de Contrôle de Qualité des Aliments de Tamarinier (Haiti), Delhi Test House (India), Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kenya), Water Aid Lab (Madagascar), Laboratorio Nacional de Higiene de Alimentos e Aguas Mizau (Mozambique), Qualibet (Philippines), Rwanda Bureau of Standards (Rwanda), National Health Laboratory Service, Public Health Laboratory (South Africa), Umgeni Water Amanzi (South Africa), SPLA Medical Crops IGHQs Diagnostic Center (South Sudan), Environmental Engineering Lab (Zambia), Food and Drugs Control Laboratory, Ministry of Health (Zambia)

Outcome: 100% reduction in total and faecal coliforms; when assessed, high reduction in turbidity and improvement of taste and colour